There is a saying in football that good players don’t always make good managers. Now, you would expect there to be a direct correlation between the two, but it doesn’t really work like that.
However, there is a small distinguished group that has been top players before becoming top managers. Without further ado, here are some of that distinguished group:
Johan Cruyff
The Dutch legend had a unique way of thinking about the beautiful game.
He broke through into the Ajax team as a teenager and went on to enjoy wild success both on the field, becoming one of the best football players ever and a highly-rated head coach.
The highlight of the Dutchman’s playing career was eight Eredivisie titles and three European Cups with Ajax. He also won La Liga with Barcelona.
It was in Catalonia that he found success in his managerial career, too, guiding the Blaugrana to four straight La Liga titles between 1991 and 1994, as well as a European Cup in 1992.
Cruyff’s team, playing his tweaked version of ‘Total Football’, is still considered one of the best club teams in the history of football.
Pep Guardiola
Like Cruyff, Guardiola’s time in football has been heavily influenced by Barcelona. In fact, it was Cruyff who gave a young Guardiola a chance to shine in the Catalans midfield.
He played a vital role in the Blaugrana winning four La Liga titles and the European Cup, amongst other silverware.
Guardiola has been even more successful as a manager.
Back at Barcelona as head coach, he won La Liga three times and the Champions League twice, amongst the plethora of other trophies.
He won the Bundesliga on three occasions with Bayern Munich before moving to Manchester City in 2016.
Guardiola experienced even more success with the Citizens, claiming the Premier League title on six occasions (and counting) and their first-ever Champions League title in 2023.
Guardiola is now considered to be one of the best head coaches that the game has ever seen.
Frank Beckenbauer
‘Der Kaiser’ was regarded as one of the best defenders football has ever seen during his playing days. That excellence extended to the time after he hung up his boots.
Beckenbauer enjoyed an illustrious playing career, winning the Bundesliga on four occasions while also winning the European Cup three times.
In 1974, Beckenbauer also became a world champion as he captained his country, West Germany, to a World Cup title on home soil. He had also previously been part of the German team that had suffered final heartbreak against England in 1966.
His success extended to his coaching career. In 1990, Beckenbauer became only the second person to win the World Cup as both player and manager, with the first being Brazil’s Mario Zagallo.
Beckenbauer didn’t enjoy a long managerial career in club football. However, in a six-year career as a club boss, he won the German top-flight title with Bayern Munich and the Ligue One equivalent with Marseille.
Carlo Ancelotti
Because of his enormous success as a head coach, many forget that Ancelotti was an accomplished player, too, during his career.
At Roma, Ancelotti helped the Giallorossi win the Serie A title in 1983. Later in his career, he also won, among other trophies, the Italian title and the European Cup twice with Milan.
Despite a highly successful playing career, his managerial success dwarfs anything that Ancelotti ever achieved on the field.
He won Serie A with Milan, the Premier League with Chelsea, La Liga twice with Real Madrid and the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich.
However, without a doubt, his most significant achievement in management has been winning the Champions League on five occasions.
Two of those titles came with former club Milan, while he also won the trophy on three occasions with Spanish giants Real Madrid.
The legendary Italian boss is the only head coach ever to win European football’s elite competition on more than three occasions.
Zinedine Zidane
The former France international certainly left his mark on the game both on and off the pitch.
As a player, he won Serie A twice with Juventus while also winning La Liga with Real Madrid, as well as the Champions League in 2002.
He also helped France to win the 1998 World Cup and the 2000 European Championships.
In 2016, Zidane became the head coach of Los Blancos, having previously worked with the B Team and also as an assistant coach.
His reign in Spain brought silverware galore, as Los Blancos won La Liga and the Champions League on three occasions.
Zidane quit his job as Real Madrid boss in May 2018. However, he wasn’t away from the Spanish capital for long as he returned to the role in January 2019 until May 2021.
During that time, the French legend claimed another Spanish top-flight title.
Didier Deschamps
Nicknamed ‘The Water Carrier’, Deschamps has enjoyed immense success as both a player and a head coach.
During his playing days, he won two French top-flight titles with Marseille, as well as the Champions League. His time at Juventus was trophy-laden, too, as he won Serie A three times with the Bianconeri, as well as the Champions League in 1996.
On the international stage, Deschamps played a pivotal, if quiet, role in France winning the World Cup in 1998 and also the 2000 Euros.
Before becoming Les Bleus boss in 2012, Deschamps guided former club Marseille to the Ligue One title in 2010. He also helped another of his former clubs, Juventus, to win promotion back to Serie A in 2007.
He has also achieved success managing his national team. In 2018, he became only the third person to have won the World Cup as both a player and head coach.
Deschamps also led his national team to the 2016 European Championship final, only to suffer a 1-0 defeat against Portugal in extra-time. In 2022, his team were runners-up to Argentina in the World Cup after a penalty shootout defeat following an epic 3-3 draw in normal and extra-time.